Tynalia
Background Almost 14 years ago, the Frost Giants of the Jur Peaks served under a Jarl of great power and influence. This frost giant, Jarl Vargn, rallied his kin to invade the lowlands of humans, a place the weaklings called Corovon. Little is known of this invasion as the frost giants never even made it to the foothills of the Jur Mountains. A young shamaness named Myranda of the Jur Boneshaker tribe gathered the united tribes of Jur into a war host, along with several outsider allies. On the night of the battle, the sky was clear, the late spring snow stopped, and the stars and moon shone brightly on the ravine where the battle took place. Some wiser folk among the Jur said Gorum himself cleared the weather and shone the stars and moon down so he could witness the battle, But the battle was not easily won. At first the frost giants had the upper hand in the battle. Their sheer physical prowess, and Jarl Vargn's leadership and influence was overwhelming the tribes of Jur. During the battle young Myranda fought like a woman possessed, a blend of magic and martial prowess felled enemy after enemy. Jarl Vargn himself saw the devastation the shamaness was dealing to his troops and threw Meginsteinn, a giant meteor engraved with runes in the giant tongue, said to have been blessed and given to Vargn by Thremyr himself, at Myranda. The great rock struck the shamaness on her forehead, but by sheer will, she headbutted the rock and cleaved it in twain. Her skull cracked, blood streaming down her face, she issued a battle cry so loud that the Covoron soldiers stationed in the lowlands heard it and thought a dragon had joined the battle above. Her rallying cry bolstered the tribes and their allies, and the battle turned in their favor. Vargn himself was felled and the battle was won. Myranda herself fell unconscious after exerting herself with that rallying call, and in her state between life and death, she had a vision. A handsome orc in iron armor came and swooped her away, safe from the fray, and in his arms, her heart melted. She imagined she made passionate love with this orc hunk while he held her over the battlefield, the din of war echoing as her body melded with his. His strong arms held her close until the last of the frost giants have routed. And when it was over, he placed her back in the snowy ravine, and with a gentle kiss on her forehead where her skull was smashed, he healed her mortal wound. When Myranda finally awoke, she was on a hide stretcher being carried home by her tribemates. She touched her forehead, the smashed skull have been fused back together, seemingly stronger than before. Also, she feels a seed inside her. Over the next weeks, she realized she had become pregnant, even though she had been pure. It was then she realized she had not dreamed the encounter with the handsome orc in iron, that he was very real. This is the story Myranda tells her eldest child, Tynalia. Born on the field of battle, progeny of the Lord in Iron. Her mother would have many lovers since then, birthing several other children with them, but she would never wed, saying her true love is waiting for her in Elysium. The orc child barely ever thinks about her mother's ramblings, preferring to learn the art of battle and the hunt from the best warriors in the tribe. She grew up strong and cunning, applying simple tactics that would give her advantages in hunting and battle. She even used her cunning to capture a young megafauna, a Brontotherium whom she named Timmony. Then the thrum of war came from the lowlands. Myranda knew the eager stares her eldest daughter gives to the east. On the day of her blooding, Tynalia followed the tracks of a great serpent, Timmony in tow. The serpent had be hurt by her arrows and retreated down the mountain into a cave. Not one to give up, Tynalia enter the caverns, honing her senses to detect any ambush. But instead of the giant serpent, she came upon a group of three orcs of the Axescar tribe. The other orcs realized Tynalia was not with them, and tried to capture her. She broke her weapon against the skull one orc, splattering his head against the cavern walls. Undeterred, the other two came at her. With her weapon broken, she fell back against their assault. Timmony came to her aid, engaging one of the orcs and slamming him back. Tynalia wrestled with the other orc, choking him out with her bare hands. Exhausted, she lay on the cold stone floor of the cavern for several moments. However, the giant serpent chose that time to slither up and attack her. She grabbed the sword the orc had conveniently left behind to defend herself. The sword gleamed with a golden hue, and felt comfortable in her hands. With renewed confidence, she engaged the serpent, cutting its head off cleanly. She bagged the serpent's head as well as the orcs and returned to the tribe. However when she returned, the tribe gaped in horror, whispering among themselves. Some called her 'sundered' and made hand signs to ward off evil. She presented the kills to her mother, who frowned and sighed aloud. "What have you done, Tynalia?" Myranda asked. "I completed my blooding, mother." the young orc woman replied simply. "No, where did you find the Axescar tribe? They do not venture into our mountains." Tynalia realized her mistake, she also knew that Gorum had let her down the mountain for a reason. She simply nods, "I broke the taboo, I am sundered. But I am not ashamed, as the Lord in Iron lead me there with promise of battle, of war. I will go to the lands of humans and show them the glory of battle, the glory of the Jur." she turns and leaves, patting Timmony to follow her. Down the mountains Tynalia and Timmony was on the way towards Corovon when she encountered a rabbit. After finding out the rabbit had an owner who would not part with it and then being given food, she joined the people who fed her. They were transporting an dying old man to see her granddaughter for the last time, which she thought was a waste, especially since the caravan was attacked by first goblins, then trolls. The old man could have fought and died, and entered Gorum's halls and waited for his granddaughter there. Instead Tynalia and Timmony was set upon and surrounded by four trolls. The trolls ended up killing Timmony, which means her trusted companion made it into Gorum's halls before her. In honor of Timmony's bravery, she cooked and ate him after the battle. To steal an egg After loosing Timmony, Tynalia finally made it into Corovon, there she overheard a rumor of a great beast up the Onde River. Finding the origin of the rumor, a halfling named Vorful. She wrung some information on this legendary beast out of the poor scout, including the fact that the great beast had eggs. Deciding it was time she trained another great beast to be her hunting partner she asked several of the companions she met on her way down the mountain, as well as a druid to come along. The plan was simple, the druid would mask their presence from beast, and they would steal an egg. Of course, the plan falls upon some complications, first the cave the great beast inhabits also has packs of small pack hunting dinosaurs living there, and second the vines that grew in the swampy cave water were alive. So they had to battle their way past the vines, and exhausted the druid's magic. Fortunately, Tynalia had acquired backup magical scrolls for just this contingency. When she finally saw the great beast slumbering in her nest, she used the scroll to mask her presence to creep up to its nest. Since the clever beast was using its bulk to guard its nest, Tynalia had no choice by to bash its skull in while it slept. Strapping an egg to her back, she and her companions started leaving the cave. The packs of dinosaurs caught them on the way out and swarmed them. Fortunately the druid use magic to cause the roots in the ground to slow down the beasts, and they dispatched the beasts along with another living vine. As they were leaving the cave, they heard a great bulk moving in from the outside, a second great beast, the mate of the first is returning from its hunt. They quickly hid to one side of the cave, but the beast smelled the druid's bear cub. Luckily for the cub, it ran faster than the hulking beast, and it gave up the chase and moved on toward's its nest. The group quickly took this opportunity to escape and as they ran, they heard the anguish of the beast when it found its dead mate. On returning to Corovon, Tynalia hatched the egg, a cute dinosaur she named Tyrona. She is now training the beast to become a hunter like herself. Appearance Tynalia is an orc woman of impressive stature, standing tall even among orc males. Her body is honed and muscular, the hue of her green skin bright as the emerald sea. She has long red hair, usually braided to keep it from getting in the way in battle, and piercing green eyes. She has a pair of small tusks protruding from her jaw, the enamel gleaming wickedly. Personality Tynalia is outspoken and coarse. She speaks her mind, but often chooses the wrong words. She believes in honor, and follows the traditions of her tribe even though she is now sundered. She views Corovon and its people her allies, although the may not view her the same way. Friends Timmony- dead and eaten Magnus- A (witch?)doctor. He gave her food, and tried to give her potions, but she intimidated him and made him take her payment for it. Liliana- Druid who helped her with the egg heist. Enemies The Axescar Tribe- The orcs of the Axescar tribe make her own people look bad, bringing dishonor to all orckind Aspirations To seek the thrill of battle. To enhance her tribe and all the Jur tribe's standing among the lowlanders. To see her father.